Getting ready for an interview? – In some instances of life, we all have to go through certain interviews. For example, when applying for a school, when applying for a prefectship, when entering a university, when applying for a job, and even when introducing yourself to your fiancé’s parents, you might face interviews. Well, the last one seems funny, isn’t it? Anyway, the hardest interview that you will have to face is the job interview, most probably. In this situation, you have to put a lot of strength into it to pass through, unlike other interviews. This interview would require your academic qualifications, sports and extra curriculum qualifications, your soft skills, leadership skills, communication skills, behavioral skills, and whatnot.
Let’s say that you have completed all the necessary academic and extra curriculum qualifications for a certain job. But the certificates are just pieces of paper. What leads you to score higher is the skills that you have achieved throughout your life. But how can someone notice all your skills within a few minutes? Well, this is why you get tricky questions during an interview. An interview may look like a casual conversation sometimes. Some interviewers try to be friendly and casual during interviews to ensure that they don’t stress the candidates out. But you have to give smart answers to whichever question they ask. Even if you feel very comfortable and friendly with them, keep in mind that it is an interview. Your entire career life depends on the answers you provide within this small time duration.
Getting ready for an interview?
The interviewers are most probably the well-experienced senior professionals in the organization. They might have a lot of experience working with employees like you. There can be certain qualities of a candidate they are looking for. For example, in companies, there are a set of ethics and cultures bound with the organization. In such places, the managers mostly prefer the candidates who seem adaptable for the setting. Therefore, your behavior during the interview will also be notified.
What kind of questions will you be asked during an interview?
Commonly in many organizations, the management look for employees with good behavioral and communication skills. Below are some of them,
- Tell us about yourself
In this question, they basically focus on your background and the impression that you have about yourself. You don’t have to tell everything about your past A-Z. It’s adequate to tell about your family, school, university, special skills you have practiced, and how you see yourself.
Ex:
“Well, I’m Julia, and I’m 23 years old. I have a mother, a father, and 2 brothers in my family. My mother is a teacher in a high school, and my father just got retired. My elder brother is working as a software developer, and my younger brother is still schooling. I went to St. John’s high school in California, and I entered the University of California in 2018. I graduated this year with a second-class upper in Business administration. That’s why I am here today. I see myself as a courageous person. Whatever tragic situations I faced in my life, I could stand strong after all. So I believe that I’m capable of fixing my mentality fast. And I love to mentor my friends when they are in trouble. So I consider myself as a good friend as well.”
- What made you apply for this job?
This question is tricky. In these types of questions, they might test your skills, and capabilities and also they give you the freedom to figure out what factors in the company made you apply for the job. So they can analyze the ordinary peoples’ idea about the company as well. Here, you can admire some qualities of the company which made you apply. This can create an idea in them that you will work honestly and also you have to provide your skills that can be applied for the benefit of the company.
Ex:
“I have gathered a lot of knowledge and skills in business administration throughout my life. I have done a diploma in human resource management as well. So I have an idea that my knowledge would fit into this profession. And I personally like the culture of this company. So I would be more than grateful if I can work as a management trainee in your company.”
- What is your ultimate goal in the career?
If anyone has an ultimate goal, they work hard to achieve it. And also, to reach a goal, a person should plan his life, at what stage he should graduate, at what stage he should get married, at what stage he should become the professional he needs to be, likewise. Working with satisfaction will help them reach the targets. And it will be a benefit to the company too. If you honestly have a goal to stay in the company and get promoted to a high post, you can admit it in the interview. So they will understand your passion and courage towards it. This is a plus point.
Ex:
“When I was young, I had an ambition that I don’t want to work under a boss, but I should become the boss. So I still work hard to become a boss one day. I have planned to do further studies in the field and conduct some company projects to get better experiences. I hope that I would be able to reach the post of CEO one day.”
- How much salary would you demand?
This question is asked by you at the interviews sometimes. In this case, most candidates think that if they demand a high salary, the interviewer wouldn’t be interested. But there are two sides to this question.
If you demand a too-high salary that will be a problem. Because you have fewer experiences, try to demand a moderate salary. If you demand a too-low salary, the interviewers would doubt the quality of your work. Demanding a good salary will show the interviewers that you trust the capabilities and potentials you have. Therefore, try to be moderate.
Ex:
“As this is my first appointment, I don’t want to demand a high salary. I know the junior managers receive salaries around $5000- $6000. I would like to have a salary of around $5000 per month. You can review my performance and change the amount at the end of the month if you are impressed with it.”
- What are your additional skills?
This question is mostly focused on your extra curriculum qualifications. Sports teams and many other societies inside some companies, sports, speaking, drawing, and other aesthetic skills will be an added qualification in the interview. You can explain a bit about your special talents, and also you can show them your certificates and awards from it.
Ex:
“I played cricket since my younger ages. It is my hobby since then. I played in the school team as well as the university team. I wish to join the company team too.”
- What do you think about charity?
In this question, they might check your humanity side. The companies are bound with different types of employees. But sometimes, being official over humanity wouldn’t be practical. Therefore, your sensitivity and selflessness would be checked through these types of questions. You can share your experiences with charity works and new ideas that you can work on related to charity.
Ex:
“I am normally a selfless person. I am a member of the regional lions club as well. There I could organize many charity projects such as distributing books to unprivileged children, donating food to poor people, and many more. I value humanity above everything.”
- What actions would you get to rebuild a company in debts?
Here they are checking up on your creativity and new ideas. This is very important when working in a company. If you are a critical thinker, you deserve a job easily. To these types of questions, you can brainstorm and give impressive ideas to score higher.
Ex:
“I will first get the reports and analyze what made the company fall into debts. Then, I would be friendly with the employees and listen to their complaints and new ideas. Then I will plan a project to rebuild the economy by discussing with the necessary resource persons.”
- How would you handle an emergency?
This question is about your decision-making abilities. In some situations, you will have to make quick and correct decisions. This is important in any organization. You use examples when answering these types of questions.
Ex:
“Let’s say a fire occurred inside the company. I would first announce the employees to move out of the premises. Then I would get help from the necessary people and extinguish the fire as fast as possible. Likewise, in any emergency, I would first care about the lives and then the documents.”
- What are your technical skills?
This would focus mainly on the information technology skills in you. As the world is developing day by day with technology, it is advantageous for a company to have employees with versatile ICT knowledge. You can present the areas you have practiced in these types of questions.
Ex:
“Actually I have done a few courses on Microsoft office. And also, database administrations with SQL and data visualization with Tableau were some of my modules in the university. I have worked on some freelance projects with this software too. So I think I can manage them.”
- Are you ready to work under pressure?
This question is asked to see if you have endurance and hardworking capabilities. An employee with these qualities would be a benefit to the company without any doubt. To score better, you can agree to this.
Ex:
“Yes, I think I will be able to handle stressful situations. I am a courageous person.”
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